David Cameron should take back control of more than 100 laws on crime and
policing from the European Union, according to a letter signed by half of
his backbench MPs.

David Cameron should take back control of more than 100 laws on crime and policing from the European Union, according to a letter signed by half of his backbench MPs.

In a letter to The Telegraph, 102 Tory MPs urge the Prime Minister to "opt out" of 130 EU laws over the next two years. They warn that if he fails to do so, the transfer of powers to Europe will become irreversible.

The powers include the European Arrest Warrant, under which 200 British nationals have been surrendered to Continental prosecutors, and a requirement for DNA and fingerprints to be shared with European police forces. The letter has been signed by two former cabinet ministers, more than half the influential backbench 1922 Committee and several committee chairmen.

The MPs organising the letter insist that it is intended to be a positive contribution to the debate on Europe, but it threatens a new confrontation between Mr Cameron and backbenchers, who are demanding further repatriation of powers after successfully lobbying him to veto a new EU treaty at a summit in Brussels in December.

Tory backbenchers are increasingly vocal on a range of issues. In a separate letter at the weekend, Tory backbenchers wrote to Mr Cameron urging him to "dramatically cut" the £400 million-a-year subsidies paid to the "inefficient" onshore wind turbine industry.

Backbenchers want Mr Cameron to use a one-off opportunity under the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in December 2009, to repatriate unilaterally up to 130 EU rules and regulations on crime and policing.

Unless Mr Cameron exercises the opt-out by June 2014, the European Courts of Justice in Luxembourg could force Britain to enforce them in full.

The letter says: “We should maintain our national standards of justice and democratic control over crime and policing — but let other nations integrate more closely if they wish.

“We do not wish to subordinate UK authorities to a pan-European Public Prosecutor.

“We do not want to see British police forces subjected to mandatory demands by European police under the European Investigation Order.”

The signatories argue that recent British co-operation with Norway over its terrorist attacks and the intelligence sharing relationship with the US shows “we do not have to cede democratic control with close partners in order to co-operate effectively with them”.

The letter is signed by Graham Brady, the chairman of the influential backbench 1922 committee, along with Charles Walker, the vice chairman, Mark Pritchard, its secretary, and Brian Binley, its treasurer. Other signatories include John Redwood and Peter Lilley, Cabinet ministers in Sir John Major’s government.

Opting out would give Britain the chance to rule on how courts applied extradition rules. Currently, British courts can only block a European Arrest Warrant request on procedural grounds, raising concerns from civil liberties campaigners. Since the introduction of the warrants in 2004, nearly 200 British nationals have been surrendered to Continental prosecutors.

Britain can also opt out of a requirement to share DNA and fingerprints with police forces on the Continent, and a rule that will force British courts to take into account convictions in another country, whether or not they are unsafe, according to analysis by campaigners Open Europe.

The letter was organised by Charlie Elphicke and Dominic Raab. Mr Elphicke said: “Euro crimes, Euro police and Euro prosecutors are not right for the UK because our criminal system is so different. The pragmatic thing would be to opt out of the lot. We can always opt in at a later date because it is the right thing to do for Britain.”

Mr Raab added: “The last thing the UK needs is the European Courts of Justice in Luxembourg doing for British crime and policing what the Strasbourg court has done for human rights.”